a few Connecticut college questions

CamelMan21
Mon, 08 Nov 2010 21:49:47 +0000

Hampshire is the kicker on your list because it significantly more “artsy” than the other schools you mentioned. I think of Hampshire in comparison to Sarah Lawrence, Bennington, Eugene Lang, and Bard, all of which are truly the most liberal LAC’s.

Conn is culturally comparable to Goucher, Skidmore, and Wesleyan in that it supports a strong arts and alternative community, but the culture of the school also embraces athletics and also carries a sizable preppy contingency. They promote well-roundedness in arts, athletics, etc. and the respective student bodies at these places are not easily pigeon-holed as preppy or artsy.

If your son can tolerate proximity to a population of preppy people than Conn and Skidmore are colleges he should consider–at the colleges he will find a strong community of like-minded, alternative, individuals. If he tours the school make sure to check-out the MOBROC Barn and Coffee Grounds to meet some students who can give him more of an inside scoop into his scene of interest.

Personally, I have very alternative tastes, play in a few bands, and am a classic film buff, but I didn’t want to be in an environment where students were competing with each other to be more different. I’m glad I share a campus with a sizable group of preps. They often carry different outlooks than me and many of my friends and it is refreshing, not threatening.